Once you’ve finished your training and earned your certifications, you’re qualified for a great career, but you’ve still got to put your best foot forward to impress employers. Fortunately, Per Scholas has a team of amazing Career Advancement professionals with years of experience and knowledge to share with Per Scholas students and graduates.

Prior to working at Per Scholas, Diahan Collins worked for JPMorgan as a Team Leader in the Operations Customer Service Department for eight years. She also worked for Young Adult Institute (YAI) as an Employment Training Specialist and Family Service Specialist for over three years, and for FedCap Rehabilitation Services as Job Preparation and Placement Coordinator for a year. Now she helps prepare Per Scholas students for the job market as a Career Advancement Manager in Brooklyn. We asked her to share the most important advice for Per Scholas graduates to remember as they set out to land their next position. Here’s what she said: 

1) Make sure your resume is tailored to the position that you are applying for. Review the job description and key requirements carefully.

2) Make sure you are networking more than you are applying for jobs online. That is, interface with potential individuals who can lead you to an opportunity. Don’t forget about the folks who are already employed in your field. They can be a great help in your job search!

3) Don’t forget about the company that you desire to work for. Go directly to their website and apply.

4) When utilizing LinkedIn, make sure your profile is free of typos and your presentation is professional.

5) Effective tracking tools will help you organize your job search. Keep notes of the companies you have applied for, agencies you have registered with, number of interviews, references, and professional networks.

6) Your Career Coach and the Business Solutions Team are here to assist in your job search.

7) Don’t give up! The more No’s you get will bring you closer to your Yes.

Per Scholas is known across the country for its reputable workforce development model. Technical training, career advancement, and supplying a diverse workforce for the tech sector have become synonymous with the national nonprofit. But nearly two decades ago, Per Scholas was better known for its IT asset reconditioning.

In 1995, Per Scholas got its start by collecting used computers and recycling them to give to families and schools. There was even a retail store operated out of the Bronx, NY office which sold and repaired discounted tech equipment. As Per Scholas’ mission shifted from refurbishing computers to opening doors to technology careers, its asset recovery efforts changed too.

“We’ve consistently adjusted and improved our process for the better, in response to numerous industry requirements and specific client needs,” says ZuQuan Rooks, Director of Social Ventures.

Today, Per Scholas partners with a handful of vetted and highly-qualified recyclers to outsource its IT asset recovery services. The e-Steward, R2 and ISO-certified recycler Liquid Technology, has become a Champion Partner of the organization. Six years ago, Liquid Technology began hiring Per Scholas graduates and donating computer hardware, which led to a positive and mutually-beneficial relationship.

“Liquid Technology is highly pivotal in delivering this important business solution to many of our client-partners,” Rooks says. “Any revenue generated from valuable retired hardware goes toward our important social mission. We proudly share with our partners the specific impact of their material support and use of our asset recovery services.”

Brenda Rodriguez, Manager of Social Ventures, handles communications with clients, coordinates logistics, and manages Per Scholas’ relationship with recycling partners, such as Liquid Technology. “We’ve had to become more selective about which donations we are able to accept,” Brenda says about all the donation offers she gets on a daily basis. She adds, “Although any donation offers are appreciated, not all are beneficial to our mission.” We are careful to ensure that the related costs inherent with their collection do not outweigh the value and volume of the donated equipment.”

On behalf of Per Scholas, Liquid Technology audits, tests and re-markets any hardware that has residual value, and recycles all obsolete hardware in an environmentally-responsible manner. When it comes to the recycling of retired tech equipment, Eric DeRosa, Director of Sales, Liquid Technology, rhetorically adds, “Since responsible e-waste management is a bonafide business solution which companies are legally required to do anyway, why not make sure it’s performed in a compliant manner and supports a good cause?”

Since industry standards and requirements for legal compliance have grown tremendously, Per Scholas urges companies to put their hardware in highly-qualified hands. Fox Sports, Mastercard International, Ford Foundation, IRS, Montefiore Medical Systems, Queens Library System and Amazon.com, among others, have trusted Per Scholas with the handling of their retired IT assets.

Last year Liquid Technology, among others, helped Per Scholas recycle 139,490 pounds of equipment. That’s 732,581 total pounds of carbon emissions that were prevented from entering Earth’s atmosphere. That’s equivalent to 1,061,712 plastic bottles!

Although Per Scholas administrates its asset recovery business out of its New York office, the Social Ventures team works with and constantly seeks national and global clientele. If your company would like Per Scholas to collect and process its retired tech equipment to directly benefit motivated, yet under-served technology students, please email ZuQuan Rooks at [email protected] for more information.

Per Scholas was honored to have two of our Platform by Per Scholas cohorts graduate in New York and Dallas during the month of May. In addition to 21 graduates in our New York Data Engineering class, we had 10 graduates obtain jobs upon graduation, three of which were hired by Platform as instructors and teaching assistants, and seven of which have been hired by firms like Learnvest and Infosys.

Dallas’ inaugural Platform cohort was a great success with 86% of enrolled students graduating, and 50% of those graduates being woman that are ready to start a career in technology. Not to be out done by New York, Dallas also had 4 students hired immediately after graduation. Thank you to our partners Cognizant, MAKE Corporation, Southwest Airlines, and Aspire Business Solutions for seeing the value that determined Per Scholas graduates can bring to their organizations.

A perfect example of a determined Per Scholas Graduate is Greg Finnell. Greg is the person in the family that can fix anything. “I am kind of like a jack of all trades,” he says. “If a computer was broken, or a router was not working — I was the guy my family would call on to fix it.”

Born and raised in Texas, Greg moved to Houston to pursue a degree in Business Management. Greg says he understood that a degree would provide him flexibility, but he had trouble sitting through classes, and with the increasing cost of education he decided to leave after earning his Associate’s Degree.

Greg spent a period of time working in a low wage customer service job. After hearing comments that “without a four year degree, it would be hard to find more advanced positions.” Greg realized that “I didn’t want to be working next to a fifteen year-old kid who would be making the same wages as me, and that’s when I started looking into certifications. I knew that technical jobs paid more than customer service.”

Like many students, Greg thought that Per Scholas was fake: “I thought it was a lie – but then I thought – if it is true then it can’t hurt.” Greg enrolled in Per Scholas’ entry level IT Support course and earned himself an A+ Certification. After 10 weeks of training he was immediately hired as a Help Desk Support for a technology consulting firm and doubled his yearly income. Greg says, “after I got my A+ certification, it opened up the door for me it, it was life changing and put a fire under me and made me start studying and working even harder.”

Greg continued to work nighttime Monday through Thursday from 8pm-7am, and took another job on the weekends at the baggage claim with American Airlines on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. On his own time he studied for additional certifications, earning three in January and February, and eventually earning his Net+ certification in March.

During that period, Per Scholas reached out to alumni about a new training opportunity with Platform by Per Scholas, a customized training track teaching an Application Support Management course in Dallas. This was a perfect upskilling opportunity for Greg, and offered customer solutions training, project management skills and advanced coding knowledge, all skills he needed in order to advance in the industry. He enrolled in the course, and continued to work nights and weekends. “It was a challenging time, and I did not have much sleep, but I was going to succeed. My dream is to make six figures in my lifetime to support myself, my partner and my family.”

Platform by Per Scholas upskills individuals with previous backgrounds in technology. Greg was able to leverage his IT Support course and working experience at Cognizant to begin learning new skills including several coding languages. “Platform was teaching new information that opened the door for my career. Companies in Dallas are trying to re-train their current employees on new languages and technologies that Platform is already teaching. All of these companies are moving towards ITIL languages, skills I had already learned at Platform.”

Before graduation, Greg was contacted by a hiring team from Southwest Airlines. Within a week he was hired as a Senior Service Desk Technician at $28/hr, nearly three times the salary he was earning before he found Per Scholas. “They found my resume online, noticed that I was going for multiple certifications, that I was a hard worker and that I wanted to continue to learn, and they hired me just like that.”

When asked about the future Greg says “I really like the technical side of these jobs. It gives me a lot of energy and I want to continue to grow. I have a love for travel and like seeing new places. I’ve got some great trips planned for myself and my partner– Paris, Rome and London are on the list!”

On May 17th, Per Scholas was welcomed to the main stage of the Propelify Innovation Festival with partners from Google, Barclays and Prudential Financial to discuss the ways companies can be driving forces behind alternative talent solutions in the tri-state technology community. This was the festival’s second year showcasing innovative products and solutions in the region. Aaron Price, Propelify founder and CEO commented, “If you’re in the innovation community in the northeast you belong here… What is an airplane without forward motion and lift? Just an idea.”

 The session’s host, Carley Graham Gracia, Head of External Affairs at Google, moderated a lively discussion titled “Propelling Innovation: Changing the Face of Tech.” Carley orchestrated an engaged conversation that focused on cross-sector partnerships that have proven impact to build a diverse and successful workforce. The panel included: Sameer Jain, Chief Technology Officer, Barclays; Mekaelia Davis, Director, Corporate Giving, Prudential; Kelly Richardson, Managing Director, Per Scholas; Anthony Pegues, Software Engineer, MM.LaFleur and Per Scholas alum.

 The panel elevated Per Scholas as a proven workforce training model that puts employers at the center of the equation to develop diverse tech talent. Partnering with leaders in finance, technology, telecommunications and beyond, Per Scholas builds industry recognized curricula, tailored to meet specific employer talent demands. The panel followed New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy who spoke to a crowd of over two hundred on the priorities his office has placed on supporting the state’s entrepreneurs and business community as a means to drive innovation and strengthen economic growth opportunities for residents.

 Sameer Jain, representing Per Scholas Champion Partner Barclays, commented that the bank puts heavy priority on teams that look different, think different and therefore develop strong and resilient solutions to the problems of the day. Barclays has enabled Per Scholas to extend training to multiple boroughs and develop a new cybersecurity training track, while bringing in hundreds of volunteers. In addition, the bank has hired over forty Per Scholas graduates, staffing their offices with talent prepared to enter the workforce. Sameer elaborated on Barclays’ continued commitment to Per Scholas that will include resources and thought leadership to help Per Scholas scale impact across the region and serve even more students in 2019.

 Mekaelia Davis, representing Prudential, spoke to the crowd about the strength of the Newark, NJ business and workforce community. “[Newark] is really prime and right for innovation,” Mekaelia said. “We are proud of partners who are building a tech ecosystem. This includes Girls Who Code who is going into their fourth year in the city of Newark, Newark Venture Partners who are incubating tech companies in the city and Apple who has engineers working with our public schools  to design better math curriculum, all so we can build a stronger pipeline of engineers in the city.”

 Kelly Richardson, Managing Director for Per Scholas discussed the value that Per Scholas presents to employers as an alternate talent resource. “What we are starting to see is major employers, Fortune 500s, tech startups, folks here in the audience today, coming to us to say ‘we really care about diversity in our tech workforce and you can help us design a solution to get there’” commented Kelly. “Our vision at Per Scholas is that we can walk into any tech employer in any city in the country and see a workforce that is as diverse and beautiful as the students of Per Scholas.”

 One of those graduates, Per Scholas alum Anthony Pegues closed out the panel with a strong message for employers in the audience. After taking a look at his watch Anthony commented “about a year ago at this time, I would be mopping the floor of a high school auditorium. Now I am sitting on stage talking about my skills and training and heading back to my office to put in work as a developer with MM.LaFleur in downtown Manhattan. What people need is an opportunity, and Per Scholas is able to provide that chance.” 

Release: For Immediate Release: 05. 11. 2018

Contact: Jake McIntosh, Director, Strategic Communications

[email protected] | 978.578.6821

Overview: National Workforce development organization Per Scholas held a documentary screening and panel discussion at both the Salesforce Tower and Amazon’s SoHo based popup loft. Over 100 people attended both events with the audience comprising of Salesforce and Amazon leaders, Representatives from local companies and Per Scholas Board members.

Topics discussed were the value of Mentorship, and how partners like Salesforce and Amazon have invested time in meeting Per Scholas students with the hopes of developing them for the broader NY tech community. These employer partnerships are a huge part of the Per Scholas model as employers are driving the need for skilled tech talent. Beyond providing the context for the Per Scholas curriculum the support employer partners provide to student before hiring them, is invaluable. When students receive coaching and mentorship from working professionals, they get to see a future version of themselves and are embolden with a new sense of confidence when pursuing their career goals.

New York, NY – This month national workforce development organization Per Scholas held documentary screenings and panel discussion at both the Salesforce Tower and Amazon’s SoHo based popup loft. The film Solutions to America’s Workforce Crisis, produced by the What Works Media Project, and directed by award-winning producer Mikaela Beardsley and filmmaker Kristi Jacobson, is a documentary profiling evidence based programs including Per Scholas and follows the lives of three young people, two of them Per Scholas graduates, as they navigate training, placement and career opportunities in an evolving market.

Per Scholas prides itself on developing talent from overlooked communities and prepares them for careers in technology. Not only are these students taught various tech skills they are also offered career coaching and professional development on the interview process and how to best represent yourself to the job market. This was more than evident after the initial event at the Salesforce tower. Salesforce employees got to hear an inspiring story from Helena Hill a current student of the Network Engineering program at  Per Scholas. Helena captured the audience’s attention when she told a motivational story about persevering through difficult times, and deciding to change her career path despite knowing the financial strain it would put her under. Helena fought through those hard times while living in a housing shelter, and still managed to make it to her classes at Per Scholas, ultimately getting her Network+ certification.

The visit to the Amazon loft space showed that the Per Scholas is a huge talent source for organizations. The beautiful Amazon loft was filled with over a hundred people that included partner employers, Per Scholas board members, and the founder of Per Scholas, John Stookey.

The highlight of the night was a Panel discussion hosted by Ken Eisner, the global lead for AWS Educate, with panelists Alba Teta, a Per Scholas graduate and a current Amazon employee, and Per Scholas CEO Plinio Ayala. Annette Brantley from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York represented one of Per Scholas’ many hiring partner during the panel discussion.

Alba Teta offered insight into how immigrants with higher education backgrounds and degrees can struggle when they change markets and move to the United States. Alba also spoke to the training, mentorship, and placement assistance that she got from Per Scholas, and her career launch with Amazon in New York. This was a powerful example of the talent level of Per Scholas graduates Alba’s story demonstrated to the local companies and organizations represented in the room that if such a large organization like Amazon could take on a Per Scholas grad and have them be successful within their company other companies could do the same. Whether that be hiring a recent grad, mentoring current students, or even speaking with the Per Scholas’ business solutions team with the hopes of developing custom training tracks for roles they are looking to fill in the future.

Both screenings were huge successes, as they provided value to the Per Scholas student with networking opportunities as well as demonstrating the value add Per Scholas can bring to organizations here in NY. Per Scholas is becoming a major player in the ever booming NY tech scene and their students are showing that they are more than on par with their traditional contemporaries.

About Per Scholas

Per Scholas is a national nonprofit that drives positive and proven social change in communities across the country. Through rigorous and tuition-free technology training and professional development, we prepare motivated and curious adults who are unemployed or underemployed for successful careers as IT professionals, and we create onramps to businesses in need of their talents. Today we provide our solutions in six cities across the country: Atlanta, GA; Greater Cincinnati, OH; Columbus, OH; Dallas, TX; the National Capital Region; and New York. To date, Per Scholas has trained 7,000 individuals, helping them build lasting, life changing skills and careers in technology.

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